New models of vehicles are thoroughly tested by manufacturers at proving grounds prior to marketing the vehicles. Indeed, vehicle models that have been marketed for some time often undergo continued testing. Such testing includes prolonged operation of test vehicles around a test track, to determine the vehicles' operational fitness. The advantages of vehicle testing in ensuring safe, satisfactory vehicles having long been recognized, vehicle testing has become a necessary and ubiquitous part of vehicle development. It can be readily appreciated, however, that using human drivers to test drive vehicles hundreds of thousands of miles is economically costly for manufacturers and physically demanding on the drivers.
It happens that test time and mileage can be reduced, and test effectiveness enhanced, by driving test vehicles over rough test tracks, in addition to driving test vehicles over smoothly paved tracks. In other words, time can be saved, testing costs can be reduced, and test effectiveness can be improved by using rough tracks. Unfortunately, prolonged driving over rough tracks is extremely physically demanding on human test drivers. Indeed, a human driver's operating time over such tracks must be severely limited for the driver's protection.
As advantageously recognized by the present invention, the above-stated advantages of using vehicle testing can be realized without requiring human test drivers by providing a computer-controlled facility for testing vehicles. Thereby, test costs are significantly reduced and test driver fatigue and discomfort are eliminated.
The present invention further recognizes that an automated test facility should be capable of testing many types of stock vehicles. With this in mind, it is recognized herein that the automated test system be sufficiently robust to permit engagement with many types of vehicles. Otherwise, a plethora of test systems would have to be provided, thereby increasing cost and decreasing the efficacy of the automated test system. Stated differently, the present invention recognizes that an automated test system or subsystem should be compatible with a large number of vehicle models, to avoid the necessity of providing unique systems/subsystems for each model. To this end, the devices must be compact and preferably permit more than a single mounting configuration, so as not to interfere with other components.
Moreover, the present invention recognizes that many vehicles must be tested to assure statistically valid test results. To facilitate testing many vehicles, we recognize that the portion of the automated system which must be physically mounted on a test vehicle must be configured for rapid (preferably on the order of a few hours or less) engagement and disengagement with the test vehicle. Otherwise, the throughput of vehicles through the test facility would be reduced. This would be undesirable, because the advantages mentioned above that inhere to automated test track testing are magnified when large numbers of vehicles can be tested; a high vehicle throughput through the automated test procedures is therefore desirable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide, in an automated durability road facility, a robotic system for driving a vehicle along a predetermined track. Another object of the present invention is to provide a robotic system that is relatively compact and useful with a large number of vehicle models. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a robotic system that is robust, easy to install, and cost-effective.